The Senate, by a wide margin of 78-22, passed a strong inclusive Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act today. All 55 Democratic Senators and 23 Republican Senators voted to pass a bill that will strengthen protections for students, immigrants, Native American women, the LGBT community, and also aid victims of sex trafficking. Eleanor Smeal, President of […]
Yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI announced that he will abdicate his position on February 28. During his papacy, Pope Benedict came under scrutiny for the Vatican’s handling of sexual abuse by priests in the United States and throughout Europe. In 2011, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Survivor Network of Those Abused By Priests (SNAP) […]
Students, parents, and faculty at Sullivan High School in Sullivan, Indiana, are rallying to create a “traditional” prom that would exclude gay students. The group met last Sunday at Sullivan First Christian Church to plan and created a Facebook invite-only group to discuss the event. The group has since been taken down, though screenshots of […]
As part of Virginia’s 2013 Budget, Governor Bob McDonnell has limited the amount of hours an hourly employee of the state can work in a week in an attempt to avoid paying for healthcare as required by the Affordable Care Act. The VA budget would limit hourly workers to a maximum of 29 hours per […]
The Department of Defense released a memo today outlining a plan to extend benefits to same-sex partners of military members. Some benefits extended to same-sex partners include child care, youth programs, legal assistance, disability and death compensation, and the right to visit a loved one in the hospital. The announcement fails to extend full health […]
Earlier this month, a seventeen year-old woman was brutally gang-raped in Bredasdorp, South Africa. The victim, Anene Booysen, had been raped by multiple men and then mutilated and abandoned. Despite medical efforts, she died of her extensive injuries this past weekend. Booysen’s aunt said that she lived long enough to identify a family friend as […]
The North Dakota state Senate approved an initiative on a 26 to 21 vote Thursday that, if passed by North Dakota Voters in 2014, would amend the state constitution to state that life begins at conception. The initiative, SB 2303, states it “ensures that the protection that our criminal laws afford[ed] to victims of crimes […]
An amendment to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) proposed by Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) has failed yesterday on a 65 to 34 Senate vote. The proposed amendment would have removed protections for LGBT victims of domestic violence, allow for new restrictions on U visas given to immigrant victims of domestic violence, prevented tribal […]
Last week the United Nations released a report condemning the practice of performing “normalization” surgeries on intersex children. The Special Rapporteur on Torture (SRT) to the United Nation’s Human Rights Council submitted a report to the General Assembly that addressed the practice of surgically altering children born with ambiguous genitalia. According to the report [PDF], […]
Tennessee state Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) introduced a bill earlier this week that would force women to have a mandatory ultrasound no less than 24 hours before having an abortion. Senate Bill 632 [PDF] would require women seeking an abortion to be shown a transabdominal ultrasound and listen to any detected heartbeat. If a woman […]
Yesterday, President Obama announced his nomination of Sally Jewell as the Secretary of the Interior. Jewell is the first woman nominated for an open position on the Cabinet in President Obama’s second term. Jewell is currently the chief executive officer for Recreational Equipment, Inc (REI) which is devoted to outdoor equipment and apparel. She worked […]
A Somali woman who accused government security forces of rape was sentenced to one year in prison on Tuesday after the court ruled that her accusation was false. A journalist who had interviewed the woman but never published a story was also sentenced to one year in prison. The Somali court ruled that the woman […]
On Tuesday, a Mississippi state Senate committee approved a bill that could threaten the use of medical abortion in the state. It now goes before the full state Senate for debate and a possible vote. Senate Bill 2795, also known as the “Women’s Health Defense Act,” [PDF] seeks to force abortion providers to follow outdated […]
On Tuesday, the United Kingdom House of Commons approved a bill which grants same-sex couples the right to marry on a 400 to 175 vote. Since 2004, citizens of England and Wales have only been granted civil partnerships. If the “Marriage Bill” passes in the House of Lords and becomes law, LGBTQ unions will be […]
A proposed bill that would have made it illegal to receive or perform an abortion in the state of Colorado has died in a state House committee. House Bill 13-1033 would have completely outlawed elective abortions in the state and would have made it a class 3 felony for doctors to perform them. The motion […]
by Martha Burk, Money Editor, Ms. magazine; director, Corporate Accountability Project, National Council of Women’s Organizations This post originally appeared on the Huffington Post. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of the people to petition the government for a redress of grievances. If you think fact that after 225 years the […]
Today marks the twentieth anniversary of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which grants job-protected sick leave to those who are recovering or taking care of someone recovering from an illness or those who have had a new child. The FMLA was signed into law on February 5, 1993 by President Bill Clinton and is […]
On Monday, the Virginia state Senate rejected a bill that would have required screening and possible testing for illicit drug use in order to qualify for state assistance. In a party line vote of 20-19, the state Senate rejected the bill proposed by Senator Bill Carrico (R-Grayson) that would require those applying for public assistance […]
Yesterday, the Arkansas state House approved a bill that would outlaw abortions after twenty weeks of pregnancy without any exception for rape or incest on a vote of 75 to 20. The bill will now move to the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee for a final decision. The state House also approved a […]
Female Students of Queen of Peace High School in North Arlington, New Jersey took a pledge last week not to swear for the month of February. In addition to the pledge, female students of the Catholic high school were given pins that pictured lips with a slash through the image to wear. The male students […]
